Specializes in pre-ferments and long fermentation process to nurture the taste and to achieve the full nutritional potential of bread using what the nature has provided to his baker.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A vital force of the "ancienne"

Seeking to strike the right balance, big-scale bakeries today would portray the baker as a "guardian of traditions" but insisted that he "is nonetheless an artisan of today." The symbolic power of (good)will bridged the chasm between theory and practice. Central bread factories awash in wistfulness for "the rediscovered bakery [la boulangerie retrouvée]", placed its ambitions in the same tradition of sensible marriage, evoking "a happy balance between the utilization of perfected matériel and a perpetuation of certain gestures of autrefois". The evocation of l'ancienne was more often a "coup du décor" - a decorative ploy - than the harbinger of better bread. The original bread does not exist.... The fashion for the authentic is governed by the authentoc" - gaudy imitation. Yet our confidence in the past as a guide to primal virtues seems boundless.

Modern means of production, managed with heartfelt care for the final outcome on a fussy selection of flours, grains, seeds, butters and oils allow me and my artisans to offer you the best kinds of fresh bread likely to be found anywhere in Kuala Lumpur.

In addition, where ever possible, I have been absolutely faithful to traditional recipes, while looking to support our local merchandisers and produce.

In the culmination of my time-tested methods, the finest ingredients, and a desire to produce only the best you may find in my bakery-café traditional favourites from artisanal viennoisseries, pâtisseries, gateaux de voyage, to even long-forgotten French regional specialities.

Come sit for a while here in my little bakery, surrounded by a plethora of the baker’s paraphernalia and instruments of his craft, and imbibe the sights, smells and tastes of the art of baking.

Here, you may enjoy fine coffees, popular soft drinks, and the occasional soup servings to accompany breads and pastries fresh out of Tommy Le Baker’s ovens.

Through my modest bakery, I hope you will join with me in my passion for good things, especially our breads: a significant part of culinary history that has brought joy, nutrition and life to mankind since time immemorial.

About Me

My love affair with bread and pastries began when I headed off to France to study Linguistics and translation. When I eventually graduted in 1999, the asian economic crisis had hit and job opportunities were scarce. It was around this time that I discovered my passion for baking, so I went back to France and took up a pastry chef course in Gregoire Ferrandi, (which is part of L'Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise in Paris) and later became a certified pastry chef. After, I also studied to become a certified boulanger (baker). I've travelled all over rural areas in France, discovering how breads are made across the country. After I came back to Malaysia, I became involved in the food industry in a sales capacity. After meeting so many industrial customers and seeing how they made bread, I started longing for the breads I used to have in France. I opened my bakery, Tommy Le Baker in November 2010.